What wasn’t said at the Olympics

I was watching the men’s ski halfpipe yesterday, although it was somewhat passively since I can’t really tell the difference between all the insane tricks they do. After one of the skiers completed a run a microphone and camera were rushed to him, as is custom for the Olympics. The commentators made it clear this was an exceptional performance (I wouldn’t know because, like I said, they all look incredible, and yet similar, to me) so the skiers reaction after finding out he took over the top spot? An enthusiastic, “Oh my goodness!”


I thought, “Well, that’s curious.” I’ve grown so accustomed to hearing “Oh my G-d” that when this guy didn’t say that, I was surprised.

Fast forward one or two more skiers and there was a pretty hard crash. The athlete landed on the icy top corner of the halfpipe and it looked bad. The camera cut to a two shot of a pair of skiers (including “Oh my goodness” guy) who had already made their run and “Oh my goodness” guy looked down towards the snow.

Then I thought, “Something’s up with this guy.” I knew in my heart when he looked down, he was praying. I could just tell, and I really hoped it might be the case that he’s a Christian. So I went to the internet and Googled his name…

David Wise.

Yep, he’s a youth leader at his church in Reno, Nevada. The more I read, the more I was encouraged by his approach to life and life as a skier. I could go more into it, but this article will give you a good glimpse into his story.

It’s really neat to notice something about someone, not based on what they do say, but also by what they don’t say.

Congrats to David on his gold medal. I applaud him for that and for his devotion to God!

-Out of the Wilderness

20 “Would You Rather” questions

Would you rather…

Taylor Swift F1 USGP Austin, Texas
image via Teen Zone Magazine

… hang out with Taylor Swift then go to a Kanye West concert or hang out with Kanye West then go to a Taylor Swift concert?

… have a third arm, or a third leg?

… be able to hold your breath as long as dolphins can (as long as 8 to 10 minutes) or be able to go without water as long as camels can (in winter, 6 to 7 months)?

… work in a coffee shop although you can’t stand the smell of coffee or work as a bartender although you don’t drink?

[for the women]… spend a day with the Pioneer Woman but you’re not allowed to talk to her at all or spend a day with Chris Hemsworth but you’re not allowed to look at him ever?

[for the men]… spend a day with LeBron James but you’re forbidden from playing basketball with him or spend a day with LeBron James but all you can do for 24 hours is play basketball with him, with no breaks?

… be extremely knowledgable about cryptocurrencies 5 years too late, so you’re treated as someone who’s behind the times, or be extremely knowledgable 5 years too early and be blown off as a fool?

… be able to draw really well or sing really well, but then you’re terrible at the other option?

… improve on something that already exists or invent something completely new?

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image via ZeroHedge.com

… get a gold medal in something like curling or a bronze medal in something like figure skating (playing on the notion that curling and figure skating athletes are in completely different leagues)?

… only be able to hop like a frog wherever you go or have legs that don’t bend at all?

… have a poster of *NSync signed by the entire band you aren’t allowed to dispose of or bleach your hair blond for a year and when anyone asks, you’re required to say it’s because you’re a fan of Justin Timberlake’s *NSync days?

… fly to the moon and back but you’re not allowed to tell anyone ever or when anyone asks what you’re biggest accomplishment is, you must say “I drove to Kentucky once”?

… have an iPhone that works most of the time or an old flip phone that works all the time?

… only be allowed to talk like Yoda or only be allowed to talk like Charlie Brown’s teacher?


… debate against Ben Shapiro for 5 minutes or debate against Tomi Lahren for 10 minutes?

… be a character on the tv show Parenthood or a character on the tv show This Is Us?

… exist as a zombie in the world of The Walking Dead or be a recurring peasant… in the world of Game of Thrones?

… be part of a really great inside joke between you and you’re only two friends or have lots of people think you’re funny but don’t want to know more about you?

… be a vegan married to someone who eats anything or be someone who eats anything married to a vegan?

-Out of the Wilderness

Isaiah 53

This is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. I took this pic because I thought it would look pretty cool with a magnifying glass I picked up recently at an estate sale here in Nashville. IMG_20180220_092145110IMG_20180220_092158016

I seem to like running out of things

The other day it was my phone battery and my gas tank. Both at the same time, and those were the very two things I needed as I was driving around dropping off packages for Amazon. Without either one of them, I’d be dead in the water. Adding to the drama was a steady rain. Do I have an umbrella? How far would I need to walk to the nearest station?

This isn’t the first time I was low on gas, though. Twice before I’ve run out; the first time coasting into a gas station, the second stranded on an interstate. But this would have been the first time since I’ve become a mature adult and all 🙂

You know how when you’re tank is low, you say it’s on E? Well, I wasn’t just on E this particular day, I was all the way to Z! I might’ve had a 2 or 3 miles left, maybe. I don’t know why I push it to the limits, because I had passed a number of gas stations while I was out.

“No, I must press on!” I thought to myself.

How tragic it would’ve been if my bullish stubbornness brought me to a halt. Thankfully, the Lord God thought it good to not teach me a lesson on this particular day, or rather, He did teach me a lesson but spared me the any dire and immediate consequences.

There is a certain nervous excitement when things are teetering on the edge, I guess. When will my phone power down from lack of juice? When will my car shut off? When my watch is counting down to 0:00, where will I be when it beeps? Can I stretch this last ounce of almond milk the next few days? When will the pipes thaw out so I have hot water again? All things that are accompanied by drama, mystery, and yes, that certain thrill.

Maybe I’m not that mature adult quite yet. :/

-Out of the Wilderness

Weekend trip to Memphis

This past weekend I went to Memphis, Tennessee because one of my nieces had a soccer thing there. Her team is based in Tallahassee, FL so I don’t get to see them play terribly often. This was a great opportunity since the trip is only about 3.5 hours from Nashville.

Well, the downside is that it rained the entire trip. And I don’t mean spotty showers. I left Nashville in the rain, drove the entire trip there in the rain, all the soccer events were under rain, and then drove the entire way back in the rain. There wasn’t even a 5 second span where it wasn’t raining. Crazy. I *think* I even saw a guy building a wooden boat and I can’t be totally sure but there may have been animals walking towards him two by two.

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My sis and I on the team bus

Now with that said, it was still such a fun weekend. My niece played in two soccer games Saturday afternoon, and I love watching her play. I also chatted and laughed a lot with my second oldest sister. I count soccer and laughing as two of the best things I get to do as an uncle! Plus, I’ll be totally honest, I’m competitive. I really enjoy watching all kinds of competitions. So those were the top highlights of the weekend.

Another memorable highlight was being able to reconnect with a dog we met in Memphis last summer. You can see him in this video I made from July 2017:


The short story is that he was homeless, alone, hungry, and in need of some love. My nieces were champions for him, so we weren’t leaving there without making sure his circumstances improved, even if it was to give him a little more hope than he had right then. He ended up at a dog rescue organization and that might be the best thing that had ever happened to him up to that point in his life. Since then, he’s been brought back to great health, and was adopted by a married couple that works at that rescue.

So this weekend we had a small window of time to break away from the soccer stuff going on. We arranged to go see Cole man and here’s a short video showing him now, just 7 months later.


I’ll obviously count this weekend trip to Memphis as a highlight of 2018, with my fingers crossed for more great highlights to come!

-Out of the Wilderness